Initially published on the London School of Economics (LSE) Africa Blog.–Jarreth Merz’ film An African Election covers the highs and lows of Ghana’s crucial 2008 presidential election, giving important insights into the electoral processes which helped safeguard the very stability of this West African nation. With many African presidential elections on the horizon for…
Originally written by Jemila Abdulai for the March 2012 edition of the SAIS ObserverAfrican Elections: Version 2012The lineup of African elections this year is impressive to say the least. Over 10 countries are slated to go to the polls to select their local and national representatives. Among them are Senegal,…
Sitting in traffic heading home like any other work evening in Accra, Ghana. Only it’s not an ordinary evening.There’s a gaping hole in Ghana’s population, the shoes once filled by our now deceased President Atta Mills. Criticize him all we want, he represented Ghana’s stability. The late Mills celebrated his…
Hi Folks!It’s been a month since my last blog and a lot has certainly happened within the span of those four weeks! Of course, it’s gonna be hard to recap everything that went down, so instead I’ll zone in on key events in the sphere of African democracy.As you probably…
Dear Fellow African,The hour is nigh, and the trumpet has sounded. After months of dilly-dallying, the levees have broken and Senegal, as we know it, is at a crossroads. It could also very well be the cradle of an African Re-Awakening. Call it the “Africa Spring”, a “Renaissance” or a…
As some of you probably know, I worked in Senegal for a while with an NGO focused on women and youth rights. I also got the opportunity to interact with many locals and to get a sense of the political situation under Wade’s government. Many Senegalese are simply fed up…
I just got online after an English discussion session with the Italian kids who’s family I’m living with. First thing I see? An unpalatable, bloody image of someone who looks eerily like Libya’s ousted dictator leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. Apparently, he’s been killed. And in his own hometown of Sirte too!Now,…
Finally, the first interview of the Visionnaire Series with Deborah Ahenkorah of the Golden Baobab Prize is all set! Stay tuned for the full showcase right here on Circumspect! In the meantime, here’s a small teaser/preview, what I call the “Visionnaire Development Minute”, on Debbie’s thoughts on, well, development in…
Dear United States of Africa,It’s been a good 50 years since the day you were born from that mustard seed of hope. You’ve come a long way since then. Today (July 2, 2060) historians are trying to pinpoint exactly the moment you were birthed. Was it the day ECOWAS, COMESA…